AUTHOR ARCHIVES

Erich Wagner

Erich Wagner is a staff correspondent covering pay, benefits and other federal workforce issues. He joined Government Executive in the spring of 2017 after extensive experience writing about state and local issues in Maryland and Virginia, most recently as editor-in-chief of the Alexandria Times. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.

June 16, 2017
A spokesman for the Housing and Urban Development Department on Friday pushed back against reports that event planner and former official for the Eric Trump Foundation Lynne Patton had been chosen to run the agency’s office for New York and New Jersey. “That’s not so, that position’s still vacant,” HUD...

June 15, 2017
More than 100 Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Thursday to oppose the cuts to federal employee retirement programs as outlined in President Trump’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal. Lawmakers, led by Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Gerry Connolly, D-Va.,...

June 14, 2017
A bipartisan bill that would expedite the firing of employees at the Veteran Affairs Department is poised to become law after the House voted 368-55 Tuesday to send the measure to President Trump’s desk. As Eric Katz reported, House leaders are touting the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower...

June 14, 2017
Leading the recent appointment news was President Trump’s announcement that he would nominate Christopher Wray to serve as FBI director, more than a month after the president controversially fired James Comey. Although currently an attorney in the private sector focusing on white collar criminal defense, Wray has extensive experience in...

June 13, 2017
The Trump administration wants to axe a program designed to encourage young people to pursue careers in government and the nonprofit sector, but experts said the move would jeopardize efforts to recruit the next generation of federal employees. The plan to eliminate the public service loan forgiveness program is part...

June 12, 2017
While Republicans in Congress craft a bill to move the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control services into a private nonprofit organization, Democrats on the House Transportation Committee have already introduced their own measure to reform the agency. The Aviation Funding Stability Act (H.R.2800) has goals similar to those laid...

June 9, 2017
The Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget request for the Secret Service is not enough to meet staffing goals at the agency, which has seen high attrition, low morale and a number of scandals in recent years, a watchdog told a congressional panel Thursday. “Given the zero-fail mission of the Secret...

June 8, 2017
The House Republican Steering Committee announced Thursday that it will recommend that Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., be named chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, resigns at the end of June. If confirmed by the full Republican House conference, Gowdy would be responsible...

June 7, 2017
Federal agencies released new information this week to help current military service members decide whether to opt into the new blended retirement program, which is slated to come online next year. Service members with fewer than 12 years in the military by the end of this year must choose by...

June 7, 2017
Buyouts and early retirement offers are likely to become more prevalent as federal agencies absorb budget cuts and work to meet the Trump administration’s goal of reducing the federal workforce. But at least one agency needs to brush up on using separation incentives more effectively. A recent Small Business Administration...